Sandwiched between Emporio Armani and a titty-bar on Manchester's Deansgate, you'll find the most beautiful and atmospheric building in the city — The John Rylands Library. It really is something. When you've had your fill of ogling scantily clad Eastern European jailbait and you can't quite decide between the monogrammed velvet pumps and the 'discreetly' branded statement handbag, pop in to this red sandstone cathedral of books and check out the buttresses on this. The building itself is accessed through a bright white, modern architectural foyer. Go up some stairs, across a glass bridge and then you will find yourself rather incongruously in an ancient gothic world of dimly lit caverns and exquisitely carved pillars and vaults.
So why the picture of A Clockwork Orange? Well, as an added bonus, on the top floor you'll find a fascinating exhibition of artifacts about Anthony Burgess and his controversial novel and its journey onto the silver screen. There are marked up film scripts, stills from the movie and letters between Burgess and the director Stanley Kubrick (a hero of mine).
Perambulating along the tranquil banks of the Hodder in Lancashire I came across a sight I'd never seen before. A mole graveyard. Except of course the velvet gentlemen in question are not buried here at all. Burying them would seem a little pointless or at least ironic, given their peculiar lifestyle. No these little fellas are impaled on barbed wire for all to see, perhaps to serve as a warning to other burrowing critters that the grim reaper is plying his trade in these here parts.
Bedraggled and eyes pecked-out by birds, these once myopic beauties have been pegged out by the mole catcher. Possibly to demonstrate to the landowner that the task has been completed but also to serve as a sort of macabre abacus to calculate the fee payable. Country folk, ehhh? Very traditional and a touch old fashioned — I love it. Not a Mole Slaughter Calculator App in sight.
And in these parts, they even have their own Lancashire name for a mole — a mowdy.
Went to Manchester Art Gallery yesterday and saw an amazing exhibition of paper art. Sounded unpromising. It's called The First Cut and features the work of a collection of artists working in, you guessed it, paper. Nearly all of the work was interesting and inspiring, particularly as paper is a bit delicate to work with — and the gallery was packed. Stand out artist for me was Sarah Bridgman. Unbelievable vision and skill, I loved it. The tiny scale of her 3D sculptures evoked a hidden underground world of puppet theatres, set designs and bygone printed ephemera. You'll have to see these in reality to appreciate just how diddy they are. Mind you I thought most of the work on show was pretty brilliant. One small downside though — the exhibition is not extensive enough. 30 minutes and you'll have been round twice!
sarahbridgland.com
